Robert Lee Gavin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Attorney for theMiddle District of North Carolina | |
| In office 1957–1958 | |
| President | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Preceded by | Edwin Monroe Stanley |
| Succeeded by | James E. Holshouser, Sr. |
| Chairman of theNorth Carolina Republican Party | |
| In office 1962–1963 | |
| Preceded by | William E. Cobb |
| Succeeded by | J. Herman Saxon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1916-05-22)May 22, 1916 Roseboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | June 11, 1981(1981-06-11) (aged 65) |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | University of North Carolina |
Robert Lee Gavin (May 22, 1916 – June 11, 1981) was an American attorney and politician.
Robert Gavin was born on May 22, 1916, inRoseboro, North Carolina, United States, to Edward Lee Gavin and Mary Caudle Gavin. Soon thereafter his family moved toSanford, where he attended public schools.[1] He received a bachelor's degree from theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1936 and returned to Sanford to establish a timber business.[2] After the outbreak ofWorld War II, Gavin left Sanford to serve in theUnited States Army Coast Artillery Corps for one year,[1][2] reaching the rank of corporal.[3] After the war Gavin finished his education at theUniversity of North Carolina School of Law and was admitted to theNorth Carolina State Bar in 1946.[1][4] He married Grace McNiell Blue in 1947[2] and had three children with her.[1]
After receiving his law degree, Gavin returned to Sanford and practiced with the family firm of Gavin, Jackson, and Gavin.[2] He served as a delegate to theRepublican Party's national conventions in1948,1960, and1964.[3] In 1954 he was appointed Assistant United States District Attorney for theMiddle District of North Carolina.[1] In 1957 he was made United States District Attorney for the Middle District,[5] temporarily filling in a vacancy created by the departure of his predecessor.[6] In 1958 he left the post to resume private legal practice.[2]
In 1960 Gavin, a Republican, ran to becomeGovernor of North Carolina in 1960. He faced DemocratTerry Sanford in thegeneral election. Gavin denounced Sanford as a tool of the liberal leadership of the national Democratic Party and organized labor.[7] He identified himself as a conservative but denied being a reactionary. He called for a "fusion" of Democratic and Republican voters to support his candidacy, and promised to institute a civil service system to reduce the amount ofpatronage available to state politicians.[8] Though he said he would not make race an issue of his campaign, he criticized the national Democratic Party's support for civil rights.[9] He lost the gubernatorial race, 613,975 votes to Sanford's 735,258 votes,[10] but performed better than other Republican gubernatorial candidates had in preceding years.[2] In 1962 he became Chairman of theNorth Carolina Republican Party,[4] holding the post until the following year.[3] Gavin initially announced that he would not seek the Republican nomination for the1964 North Carolina gubernatorial election, but changed his mind at the state Republican convention and accepted the nomination that year after being urged to do so by his colleagues.[8] He lost the general election to DemocratDan K. Moore, earning 606,165 votes to Moore's 790,343 votes.[11] Attributing the defeat to a lack of black electoral support, he urged the Republican Party to reach out to black voters, though he opposed theCivil Rights Act of 1964.[2]
Gavin served as thecity attorney of Sanford from 1965 to 1971,[3] when he left the city and moved toPinehurst. He served on the North Carolina State Constitution Study Commission in 1968.[2] In 1972 and 1973 he acted as a civilian aide to theSecretary of the Army.[3][2] Republican governorJames Holshouser appointed him as a special judge on theNorth Carolina Superior Court in 1974.[2] He was sworn in on January 6, 1975.[12] Holshouser's successor, DemocratJim Hunt, reappointed Gavin to the post,[13] andin 1980 he supported Hunt's reelection.[14] He retired from the judgeship that year.[2]
After leaving his judicial office, Gavin practiced law at the firm of Staton, Gavin, and Perkinson. He began receiving chemotherapy to treatliver cancer in early 1981. He died on June 11, 1981, at his home in Pinehurst.[2]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kyle Hayes | Republican nominee forGovernor of North Carolina 1960,1964 | Succeeded by |